Chasing Yesterday
by enunciiate
Summary: A heartbroken Quinn fled to New York after her high school graduation and never looked back. Eight years later, she returns to Lima, Ohio for some much needed closure only to run into the very person she's been trying so hard to forget. R&R!
1. Home

**A/N:** I love Finn and Quinn fluff, but I love Finn and Quinn angst that much more. I have about seven or eight chapters planned out in total. Each chapter will have a sort of theme song, which I implore you to listen to should you have the time. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. Finn and Quinn forever!

**Song:** Home  
**Artist:** Daughtry

* * *

Quinn carefully veered her car into the vacant parking space. As she took her keys out of the ignition, a heavy sigh escaped from her cherry lips. She rested her hand on the door handle for a moment afterward, but hesitated, ultimately deciding to retract her hand.

_No._ This was definitely a bad idea. Honestly, she was what? Twenty six now? What good would a walk down memory lane do?

More importantly, how did she even end up here? Back in Lima, Ohio? In front of Breadsticks of all places?

"You know why," the voice inside her head answered her. "Finn."

_Finn._ Just thinking about him brought a bittersweet smile to her face. Yes. _He _was the reason she was back here, the reason she was sitting in her car right now contemplating her life.

Finn and Rachel had still been together when they had graduated, so Quinn imagined that they were happily married to each other by now. In fact, she had seen Rachel on Broadway last year (not intentionally of course). A colleague of hers had dragged her to see the show with him. If she had known that Rachel Berry would have been playing the female lead, she would have pardoned herself from the event with whatever pathetic excuse she could come up with be it diarrhea or something equally pressing.

God forbid they had had any children. She had never kept in touch with anyone from McKinley. That was sort of the point when she had left Lima, Ohio for good. She had wanted to leave everything, especially _him _behind. Her mother knew very well why she had wanted to leave so desperately. Even her father had known.

"_Running away doesn't mend a broken heart Quinnie," she assured her, hugging her daughter tightly before she boarded her plane to New York. "I was young once too as hard as that may be for you to believe. I know these things from experience sweetheart."_

_Quinn hugged her back, trying desperately to hold back the tears that threatened to fall down her porcelain cheeks._

"_I know mom, but hopefully, going to New York will at least help me forget," she responded, pulling away from her warm embrace now. "You'll come and visit me over the holidays, right? You and dad?"_

_Her parents had gotten back together not six months ago, one of the best things to have happened to her this year._

"_Absolutely," her mother promised her as her father nodded in agreement from where he stood. "Have a safe trip sweetie. Call us when you arrive."_

"_I will," Quinn promised them, glancing over her shoulder at her parents one last time before finally heading through the departure gates._

_Goodbye mom._

_Goodbye dad._

_Goodbye Finn._

Unfortunately, her mother had been right. She did everything she could to leave him behind. Dating Sam in high school had been a nice distraction for awhile. Unsurprisingly though, _he _had been the one to break things off with her. It was after their graduation. He simply realized that she would never truly be his. Her heart would _always _belong to Finn.

"_Did I do something wrong?" she questioned, starting to panic a little._

_Sam had cited that they needed to talk and she knew that no good news ever followed those words._

"_Sam, are you breaking up with me?" she concluded and her lips quivered at the very idea._

_She felt her heart drop when he nodded._

"_It was the way you were looking at him at the ceremony," Sam simply explained, wanting to be direct with her. "Quinn, admit it. You never stopped loving Finn."_

_What the hell was he talking about? She loved him! How could he not see that?_

"_Sam, stop," she warned him, not wanting to encourage his ridiculous assumption. "You're being nonsensical right now. We've been going out for what? Two years now? I love you. You must know that."_

"_I do and I love you too Quinn," he promised her, although there was a sad smile on his lips._

_She ignored the somber expression on his face and laced her fingers through his with no intention of letting go until he understood exactly how much she needed him._

"_Exactly, so please stop overreacting over nothing, alright?" she asked of him, but much to her dismay, he shook his head._

_When he attempted to pull his hand away from hers again, she let him go despite her earlier vow to hold onto him._

"_I wasn't done," he informed her, standing up from her bed now and walking away. "I don't doubt that you love me Quinn, but you'll always be in love with Finn. There's a difference. I can possess you mind, body, and soul, but I'll never have your heart. You and I both know that."_

_He gave her one last lingering look before he finally strode out of her room. She remained frozen on the bed after he had left. It was only when she heard him head downstairs that reality really began to set in around her. Sam was dead serious about leaving her._

_Damn it! Why did they always leave?_

"_Sam, please!" Quinn shouted after him, hurrying down the stairs. "Listen to how unreasonable you're being! You're breaking up with me because of some stupid look I didn't even know I gave Finn at the graduation ceremony. Are you even listening to yourself? This is absolutely insane! You don't want to break up with me Sam, not really."_

_He let out a heavy sigh at her words and whirled around to face her, one foot already out the front door. He needed to make her understand._

"_Quinn, I know you think I've taken one too many footballs to the head to break up with you right now, but believe me when I say that I'm doing this for you. I'm doing this because I love you Quinn. I swear," he confessed, looking just about as broken as she was about this now. "You'll realize you and Finn were always meant to be together someday and when you do, you'll thank me for doing this. I promise you. You'll thank me."_

_She shook her head, unable to process his words, the tears streaming steadily down her face now. Unable to stand seeing her so upset, he pulled her in for a long hug, giving her a small kiss on her forehead in an attempt to offer her what little comfort he could._

_Breakups were always hard, no matter the reason, no matter the motive._

"_Goodbye Quinn," he whispered ultimately, stepping away from her, and then, he was gone._

_She stood there in the hallway for a few moments longer, her feet unmoving, before she finally ran up to her room, slamming the door with a loud 'bang' behind her. She and Sam were supposed to have gone off to California together. What the hell was she supposed to do now? How could he do this to her?_

_She took the picture of the two of them from her side table and threw it against the wall, watching the glass from the picture frame shatter to pieces just like he had shattered her heart. She hadn't really processed all that Sam had been saying, but she knew one thing was for certain. Sam was wrong._

_She was not still in love with Finn. He had moved on to Rachel in a heartbeat after they had broken up and she had moved on as well. She did not still love Finn Hudson, she kept repeating to herself as she dried her tears until she realized moments later that fuck. Yeah, she did._

The next morning, she had immediately talked to her dad about her breakup with Sam (and _only _that). She knew he had connections at NYU. Just as she had expected, he had been _more _than happy to place the call. He had never been thrilled in the least bit by the idea of his daughter going off to California with that Sam boy anyway.

NYU had been nice enough. She got good grades, made a lot of friends, but still, she couldn't forget _him_. She had even gone through a dreadful phase of going out with any guy that had asked her. Her hope had been that one of them would help her forget Finn, but one after another, they disappointed her. She'd always end up comparing each and every one of them to Finn and none of them ever measured up. None of them were _ever _enough.

_Hell!_ Most of them never even managed to get a goodnight kiss from her at the end of their _first _date, let alone a second one. To be fair though, there was this one lucky guy in her sophomore year who made it all the way to their fourth date before she dumped him like a hot potato.

When dating other people had failed to make her forget him, she buried herself in her school work. She supposed something good had come out of that. She was one of the top lawyers at her firm in New York now. In fact, she'd heard a rumor around the office that she might make partner by the end of the year. She'd be the youngest lawyer to _ever _make partner in the history of the firm, but what good was having a successful career when she didn't have someone to share it with, when she didn't have the one person she _wanted _to share it with?

And that's how she had ended up here tonight. Her first date with Finn had been at Breadsticks. She had been excited, although she had hid her emotions well and he had been, well, nervous, _extremely _nervous. So nervous in fact that he had thrown up all over the table halfway through their dinner date. He had been mortified of course and she had been (fortunately for him) forgiving. Then again, who could possibly stay mad at such an adorable boy?

What was she planning to achieve by coming here and revisiting her past? She was hoping for closure she supposed, but she knew that deep down inside, what she wanted was a miracle, one where Finn would come back to her, one where he would return to her side. She knew that would never happen though. She had _never _hated anyone more in her _entire _life than she had Rachel Berry. Sometimes when Quinn was _really _upset, she'd curse the day the Broadway star was born.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down then. Somehow she had managed to get out of her car and was now standing at the entrance of the restaurant. Slowly, cautiously, she strolled in, the memories hitting her like a tidal wave.

"_You look really pretty tonight Quinn," Finn complimented her as the woman handed them their menus. "I mean, not that you don't look pretty like all the time, but tonight you uh, yeah, I'll shut up now."_

_He hid his face behind his menu in embarrassment after that and Quinn giggled, happy to know that she wasn't the only one who was nervous about their first date._

_She had no idea what came over her next, but she slipped out of her side of the booth and went over to sit beside him._

_Placing a small kiss on his cheek, she said, "Thank you Finn."_

_And he blushed, looking very much like a tomato with hair._

"Table for one please," she informed the waitress who had approached her, snapping out of her reverie. "And could I have that booth in the back there?"

The waitress followed her gaze and turned to look at the booth in question. She shook her head, causing Quinn to purse her lips in disappointment.

"Sorry dear," the older woman apologized, although she didn't look very sorry at all. "That table's reserved. Always is this day of the year…as far as I know anyway. I've been here five years now and counting."

Quinn blanched for a moment upon hearing her explanation. For one, she was _never _denied anything in New York. She was Quinn Fabray, top lawyer at Latham & Watkins. Some of her clients were freaking _celebrities_, and secondly…

"Why?" she wondered out loud and the waitress merely shrugged in response.

"Beats me," she revealed, tapping her finger against her chin in thought. "He's not from around here I don't think. All I know is that he comes in here every year on this day. He books that _specific _booth at least a month in advance. I really couldn't tell you why though. He's not much of a talker, so only God knows why I guess."

Quinn supposed there were weirder people in this world.

"Well, could you maybe see if you can talk to him about giving the table up to _me _this year?" Quinn pressed her luck, giving the woman her best smile. "The last time I was here was on the day of my high school graduation and after tonight, I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon or ever. It would _really _mean a lot to me."

"Sorry," she responded again, except this time, there was a genuine apologetic smile on her face. "I'd honestly love to help, but my boss would _kill _me if I messed with the reservations. I'm in enough trouble with him as it is. You understand."

Quinn sighed in exasperation, but nodded. What else could she do? The last thing she wanted was to get the woman into any kind of trouble.

"Absolutely," she assured her, patting her lightly on the arm. "Don't worry about it. I'll sit somewhere else."

The waitress thanked her, preparing to lead her to another booth when she paused suddenly, menus in hand.

"Hey, why don't you see if he'll _share _the table with you actually?" she suggested, cocking her head towards the door. "He just arrived. Pretty girl like you shouldn't be eating alone anyway. Who knows? You might even fall in love him. I think he's single you know."

Quinn smiled politely at the woman and turned around, fully intending to take her advice. She was ready to do whatever it took to sit in that booth tonight, the _last _night she had allowed for herself to live in the past.

_Dear God._

Forget falling in love with him. Been there, done that.

_Still do._

"Finn?"

A shocked pair of eyes met hers.

"_Quinn?_"


	2. The Mess I Made

**A/N:** Thank you so much for your kind reviews on the first chapter. I certainly hope you will find this one equally satisfying. Again, listen to the theme song of the chapter and please review should you have a moment to spare. Have a fuinntastic holiday!

**Song:** The Mess I Made  
**Artist:** Parachute

* * *

"So," Finn started uncertainly as the waitress Quinn had been talking to earlier handed them their menus. "What brings you back here Fabray?"

The woman winked at her before she left the table, obviously unaware that the two had history. She could feel her cheeks flush. _Oh God._ This was _so _embarrassing. Luckily for her, Finn didn't seem to notice.

"Are you going to answer me?" he wondered when she had remained unresponsive for too long. "Or am I supposed to guess here?"

"Oh, of course not," she squeaked, clearing her throat awkwardly afterward to bring her voice back down to normal. "Um, I thought I'd come back to visit my parents. They've always been the ones to fly over and see me for the last eight years, so I thought it was time that I returned the favor."

Damn. That didn't even sound convincing to _her_.

Well, she wasn't _lying _to him per se. Sure, she wasn't _really _here to visit her parents (at least that wasn't the sole purpose of her little trip back here), but the second part about them always coming to visit _her _in New York instead of her coming back home to see _them _was a hundred percent true!

Hearing herself admit it out loud just now though made her feel like a terrible daughter. Thankfully, her parents understood why she hated coming back to Lima. There were simply too many memories of _him _here.

"I see," he commented, eyes twinkling with amusement, evidently not buying her reason. "Funny enough, I bumped into your mother earlier today actually. She didn't mention anything about you being here. I _do _believe that bit about you never having set foot in Lima though since after our high school graduation. _That _much I know is true. So, come on Quinn. What are you _really _doing back here tonight?"

She swallowed hard, averting her eyes from his penetrating gaze. Crap, and was he smirking? _Smug bastard. _She took a moment to gather her thoughts. She could sell this small lie to him, no problem. She was a lawyer for God's sake, one who charged her clients up to a whopping $500 an hour for her work! She sure as _hell _could handle one Finn Hudson.

"I wish I had a different agenda Finn, but I'm _really _here to just see my parents," she repeated, the lie rolling easily off her tongue. "My flight landed like two hours ago. I just thought I'd grab a bite to eat before heading over to surprise them, you know?"

"Of course," Finn echoed mockingly, still clearly not believing her.

Quinn took a sip of her drink in desperation, wanting to change the subject and fast lest he continue to interrogate her about why she was _really _here at Breadsticks tonight.

_Come on! Think of a topic, any topic Quinn…Oh, perfect! _

"So, how are you and Rachel doing?" she wondered casually, more than happy that the attention would be off of her now.

Much to her surprise though, his demeanor changed almost instantly upon hearing her question. Either her mind was playing tricks on her or he actually looked…_upset_.

"_I am not going to ask you again Finn," Rachel shouted, pointing a finger at him accusingly. "Did you or did you not come with me to New York just so you could see Quinn again?"_

_His eyes widened in shock over her accusation. How did she find out?_

"_Rachel, calm down," he pleaded with her, opting (wisely) to lie. "I came here to support you in your audition for Spring Awakening. You know that."_

_It was the half truth. He had just had a small side mission in coming with her to the Big Apple was all._

"_No, I will not calm down!" she spat as she began to pace back and forth in front of him. "I think I at least deserve the truth Finn. Jesse saw you standing outside of Remi with Puck last night!"_

_Fuck. He never hated Jesse more than he did in that very moment._

"_We passed by and then left Rachel," he assured her, holding his head in his hands in frustration. "Honestly, where does Jesse get the idea that I was there to see Quinn?"_

_Also a half truth. He had told Rachel a lot of those in the duration of their relationship._

"_Because Quinn was there for a corporate Christmas party," she enlightened him, hands on her hips now, facing him. "And I know that for a fact because I got Puck drunk last night and he told me. You were there for the sole purpose of 'wanting to catch a glimpse of Quinn again'. His words, not mine, so you can stop lying to me Finn."_

_He shot up from the bed then to confront her, absolutely livid, "What? You got my best friend drunk to grill him for information?"_

_She rolled her eyes, pushing her hair off her shoulders in exasperation._

"_Please, he was already on his way there, but yeah, I did," she confirmed, not backing down. "What other choice did I have? I mean, you're not exactly the poster boy for honesty Finn. You used to be once upon a time, but recently, I don't even know who you are anymore!"_

_He sighed. He knew there was no way he was getting out of this one without telling the truth, so he did._

"_Fine Rachel," he admitted, throwing his hands up into the air in defeat. "Yeah, I wanted to see Quinn again. Look, can we just drop this? I didn't even talk to her or anything."_

_He suspected that any minute now, the front desk would be calling up to inform them of the flood of complaints they were receiving regarding all of the noise coming from their room._

"_Drop this?" Rachel screeched, beyond furious with him now. "Are you serious? I just found out that my longtime boyfriend is still pining over his ex-girlfriend. How the hell am I supposed to feel about that? Huh? You still love her, don't you? Answer me Finn!"_

_He didn't quite know what came over him then, but he snapped. He had never lost his temper with her before, not like this at least._

"_Will you stop being so goddamn dramatic all the time?" he barked back and immediately she grew quiet because Finn rarely ever used that tone with her. "Ever since graduation Rachel, everything has been about you. Every time you have an audition somewhere, I make sure I'm there. I'm rehearsing your lines with you. I'm helping you pick out your stage costumes. When you get a part, I celebrate with you and when you get turned down, I have to hear you bitch about how the casting director simply doesn't appreciate your talents. My whole freaking life revolves around you Rachel!"_

"_That's not fair Finn," she whispered, sitting on the bed now, her head hung low. "I support you too. I go to all of your games to cheer you on. I mean sure, I had to miss the last two maybe because I had auditions and whatnot, but…"_

_He looked at her in complete disbelief. Was she serious?_

"_Last two?" Finn scoffed, correcting her. "Let me refresh your memory Rachel. The last game you came to was about three months ago. I've had plenty more since then."_

_She only continued to stare at him with her innocent wide eyes upon the reminder._

"_You know I wanted to be there for all of them Finn, but my auditions are important to me," she reminded him, reaching out to touch his arm in an effort to console him. "I was there in spirit every single time though. Besides, your team always wins anyway."_

"_Your auditions are frankly all the same to me too," he shot back, shrugging off her hand. "What's your point?"_

_She remained silent, her eyes tearing up a little now. He watched her from where he was standing for a moment before he finally sighed, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. Yelling at Rachel was like kicking a puppy, absolutely deplorable._

"_Wait, don't cry," he begged her, sitting down on the bed beside her. "I'm sorry Rachel. I just…I get frustrated because you always seem to think that your dreams are more important than mine. I mean, the other night, you just told me that if you got the lead in Spring Awakening, we'd move to New York permanently. Did you even ask me if that's what I wanted?"_

"_Finn, there's only one Broadway," she tried to reason with him, drying her tears with the tissue he handed her from the side table. "You can be a football coach anywhere."_

"_Maybe I don't want to be a football coach just anywhere Rachel," he told her, trying hard to keep his cool. "Have you ever thought about that? Maybe my dream is to be a football coach at Boston University, nowhere else."_

_Before Rachel could answer him, her cell phone rang. She excused herself and frankly, Finn was grateful for the intrusion._

_Ten minutes later, she hung up, turning around to face him again, her features devoid of all emotion. Yeah, that face meant business._

"_That was Jesse," she informed him after keeping him in suspense for a moment or two, electronic device still in hand. "We got the leads. So, what now Finn? Because I've dreamt of this day for too long to give it up."_

"_Well, I'm not giving up on my dream either Rachel," he stressed, standing his ground. "I'm not starting fresh again in a new city. I like where I am now."_

_She waited for him to suggest a solution, a long distance relationship perhaps. When he didn't, she took a shaky breath to compose herself. Regardless of her now broken heart, her dream of being on Broadway had finally come true._

"_Well then, I guess you've made your choice Finn," she murmured, swiftly grabbing her purse before heading for the hotel door. "But don't for a second blame this breakup on me. My dreams are not too big for you to handle Finn. Worse come to worse, we could have had a long distance relationship, you in Boston, me here in New York, but you never even considered that, did you? You've been looking for an excuse to break up with me for awhile Finn. I'm hardly naïve."_

_He remained quiet, mostly because he knew everything she was saying was true._

"_This breakup has everything to do with perfect little Miss Quinn Fabray," she finished haughtily, masking her pain with utmost expertise._

_After all, was she not an actress?_

"_Lie to me all you want Finn, but stop lying to yourself. You never stopped loving her."_

_She slammed the door not soon after. It was a sound he would remember for the rest of his life._

Rachel had turned out to be right. All other problems aside, he had never stopped loving Quinn. He had merely been in denial.

"We broke up about two years ago," he informed her finally, his head hung low at the memory.

Her eyes widened upon hearing his confession. No wonder he had looked so depressed. _How could she not have known that?_

"Sorry to hear that," she managed to comment after overcoming her initial shock and he shrugged in response.

"Her dreams were too big for me I guess," he lied, trying to keep a straight face in front of her.

_You were always the one I wanted._

When she remained silent and started to poke uneasily at her food, he moved on, "Have you seen her on Broadway by the way? She's currently in a production of Spring Awakening with Jesse St. James. You remember him from high school, don't you? They announced their engagement last week actually. I don't know if you've heard."

"Uh yeah. In fact, a colleague and I went to see the show last year. She was phenomenal. I guess she turned out to be the star she always knew she was. I had absolutely no idea about you and her though. I guess I missed a lot, huh?" Quinn noted then and Finn had to agree with her.

"You didn't have to," he told her, adding, "You chose to forget us all."

_You chose to forget me. I went looking for you Quinn._

She set her fork down forcefully on the table upon hearing his accusation. _Who the hell did he think he was?_

"That's not true," she whispered, hating him for even going there.

_I didn't have a choice._

"Come on Quinn," he called her out, looking her straight in the eyes now. "You disappeared after graduation without even saying goodbye! We all had to find out from your _mother _that you were headed to New York and what about all those glee club reunions we've had in the last few years? Did your invitations get lost in the mail or something? Is _that _it?"

He almost wanted to hear her say 'yes' because the truth that she had moved on with her life, moved on from the glee club, moved on from _him _hurt too much.

_He stood in front of the tall building, unable to move. Puck had been convincing, getting on that plane had been easy, but actually standing there in front of her office building right now scared him shitless. Who was he to march up there and tell her he still loved her? It had been what? Seven years now since their high school graduation? Hell, she was probably married by now to some lucky bastard (one he'd like to kill)._

"_Finn Hudson," he suddenly heard a familiar voice call out from behind him and he turned around to find Rachel and Jesse standing there._

"_Rachel," he breathed, taking the time to note that her right hand was intertwined with Jesse's. "Nice to see you again."_

_She smiled at him and surprisingly, her smile was a genuine one. Well, of course. No one held a grudge for this long, not even Rachel Berry._

"_Great to see you too Finn," she told him sincerely, seeing as how their dramatic breakup had been over a year ago. "How's Quinn?"_

_Finn coughed uncomfortably before he answered her, "Uh, I wouldn't know actually."_

_Puck was right. He was a wuss._

"_Wait, you mean you never went after her?" Jesse inputted, since Rachel had told him everything the night of the breakup._

_Finn rolled his eyes. Well, geez. He didn't need to look so sorry for him._

"_Uh no," he confessed, looking down at his shoes in embarrassment. "I mean, I wanted to, but I sort of decided to head back to Boston to clear my head first."_

"_Well, I'm going to assume that your head has finally been cleared since you're standing in front of her office building right now," Jesse noted then and Rachel nodded in agreement._

"_Yeah, not exactly," he admitted, eyeing the building once more, skepticism in his eyes._

_Maybe he should just try again next year._

"_Come on Finn," Rachel urged, giving him a playful slap on the arm. "It's been a year since our breakup. You're not worried about hurting my feelings are you? Because I'm with Jesse now, so no hard feelings."_

"_That she is," Jesse echoed proudly, kissing her temple as she giggled in response. "My little Broadway star."_

_He knew Rachel was just teasing him, but he still felt queasy at the idea of going up there. Eventually, the two of them bade him goodbye (not before he promised them that he would see their show before he left of course) as he mustered up the courage to finally enter her building._

"_Can I help you with something?" the woman at the front desk asked him when he approached her, eyeing him suspiciously._

_Well, he did look out of place he supposed considering he was probably the only guy in here without a suit on._

"_Uh yeah, could you tell me where I might find Quinn Fabray?" he questioned, starting to get a little anxious now that he was so close to seeing her in person again._

_Before the woman could answer him though, he heard her unmistakable laughter from behind him. God. He had missed the sound of her voice so damn much._

_He instantly smiled, turning on his heels only to find her a mere few feet away from him. This had to be fate. He took a step towards her, but stopped in his tracks when he realized she wasn't alone._

"_I left my briefcase upstairs," she was telling the sharp-looking guy in front of her. "Give me five minutes."_

_Please don't be her boyfriend, Finn silently prayed._

"_Fine," he reluctantly agreed, letting her out of his grasp. "But hurry up darling. We're going to be late for the party. You know how Giselle gets when we're late for one of her shindigs."_

_Darling, of course, Finn mused bitterly to himself._

"_Yeah, yeah," Quinn answered, blowing him a kiss. "Just wait for me in the limo, will you?"_

_Just then, the receptionist spotted Quinn heading towards the elevators. She stood up, about to notify the blonde that she had a visitor, but Finn stopped her before she could. He had had his fair share of humiliation for one day._

"_No need," Finn enlightened her, already starting to leave. "Uh, I think I might have the wrong building actually. Thanks for your time ma'am. Happy holidays."_

"_Happy holidays."_


	3. Only Reminds Me Of You

**A/N:** Aw, thank you so much for all your reviews! Happy 2011 everyone!

**Song:** Only Reminds Me Of You  
**Artist:** MYMP

* * *

"Forget it," he continued when she failed to respond, his tone light again. "I understand. We all wanted to get out of here, leave everything behind, make something of ourselves, right? I hear you're one of the top lawyers in New York now. That's pretty great."

"Yeah," Quinn answered, making an effort to ease back into the conversation as well. "It really is. I mean, it's hard work. I get stuck with some of the most pain-in-the-ass clients imaginable, but at the end of the day, I really _do _love my job."

He returned her smile, but something in her eyes told him that he didn't quite know the whole story, not that he had any right to pry of course.

"_I hate my job!" Quinn shouted as Chace struggled to pull her back from the balcony. "I hate my life!"_

"_Alright, someone has had one too many glasses of wine," he observed as he dragged her over to the couch._

_Quinn had known Chace ever since the start of her internship at Latham & Watkins. He was her best friend, so she had absolutely no inhibitions around him. After all, he was quite used to her antics by now. In fact, he was especially accustomed to her antics on this particular day of the year._

_What was so special about today? Today was the anniversary of her first date with Finn. It was the one day out of the entire year that she allowed herself to wallow in self pity. As per routine, Chace and her would order takeout after work (her choice, always) and then, she would rant on about Finn and Rachel for most of the night._

_Eventually, however, she would come to realize that she was the problem, that she was the one to blame for everything (although Chace would try to convince her otherwise). Three glasses of wine later, she would inevitably be on the balcony broadcasting to the whole world that she hated her job, that she hated her life._

_Thankfully, Chace was always there to pick up the pieces. He was certainly a whole new level of awesome in her eyes. She would be so lost without him right now._

"_You know Chace," she told him, giggling as she rested her head comfortably on his shoulder. "Believe it or not, my life was not supposed to turn out like this."_

"_No?" he encouraged her, stroking her hair in a gesture of consolation as he always did. "Tell me then Q. What was that master life plan of yours that went so wrong?"_

_He was being nice of course. She knew he had heard the same shit from her before, but he never seemed to mind, so she would answer him anyway._

"_I was supposed to be happy," she whispered finally, an uncontrollable tear falling down her cheek._

_Ugh. She hated being so goddamn weak, so not in control, but for one night only, Quinn forgave herself for her vulnerability. She was human after all, wasn't she? Tomorrow, she would return to being her confident kick-ass self and pretend (as she always did) that tonight had never happened. It was one of the rules she had made for herself, one that Chace had to follow too._

"_Oh babe," he started, trying to make her feel better. "Finn clearly had no idea who he was letting go of because you are so goddamn amazing, you know that? Rachel Berry has nothing on you."_

"_You can stop lying to me," Quinn sniffled, pouring another glass of wine for herself. "You saw her talented ass on Broadway the other night."_

_In fact, she had been fucking fantastic. How had Rachel Berry ended up with everything she had ever wanted and yet she was here crying on her best friend's shoulder over the life she could have had? Ugh. Life was so unfair sometimes!_

"_Yeah, she was pretty awesome," he admitted, causing her to sigh prematurely in disappointment. "But my statement still stands."_

_Her lips curved into a smile upon hearing his encouraging words. Chace Parker, ladies and gentlemen, the best friend ever!_

"_You're the best, you know that?" she asked him, an appreciative glow on her cheeks._

_She looked up at him then and when their eyes connected, she felt her breath catch in her throat. She noticed how close their lips were to one another. It would be so easy to just kiss him and pretend he was Finn. It would be so easy to forget all the hurt for just one night._

_In the end, he was the one to turn away from her, choosing to look at the wall instead, suddenly finding the elegant wallpaper of the apartment absolutely intriguing. It was then that the wheels began to turn inside her head. She had heard a rumor around the office not long ago that Chace had been in love with her from the moment he had met her, but she had never given the preposterous idea a second thought until now._

"_Quinn," he wondered, breaking the awkward silence (an interruption she was thankful for). "Why are you still so hung up on Finn? He was your boyfriend for awhile in high school. We're not even talking college here, so why Q?"_

_Ha! And to think she had been worried that he was in love with her. No, Chace felt sorry for her. Everyone who knew her little story did. He thought she was pathetic for holding onto Finn for as long as she had. He thought she was pathetic, period._

"_You think I'm pathetic, don't you?" she confronted him, starting to lose control of her emotions again (the alcohol certainly wasn't helping). "You think I like seeing myself like this? I've tried so hard to forget him Chace, but everything I do reminds me of him, so excuse me for taking one freaking day out of every year to feel sorry for myself!"_

_She poured herself another glass of wine in the process, not even giving a damn that she had spilled some onto her brand-new carpet. She knew she was starting to get really drunk now, but she just couldn't stop herself._

"_Quinn, I didn't mean to…" he promised her, standing up and approaching her._

_From the concerned expression on his face, she could already tell that he was about to cut off her alcohol supply and so, desperately, she took a step back, both bottle and glass still in hand as she continued to yell at him._

"_It's not fair Chace. He got to move on! He got to move on, and live his life, and be happy," she informed him, tears running continuously down her cheeks now as she took a direct swig from the bottle. "I'm the fuck up here! I'm the one who has to live with my mistake. Everything would have been different if I hadn't screwed his best friend, who I'm pretty sure is also having the time of his life right now. I ruined everything! We'd still be together otherwise. Rachel fucking Berry would never have had the opportunity to come between us. We'd be happy right now! Can't you understand that Chace? We'd be so happy right now!"_

"_Stop Quinn! Goddamn it! Stop!" he shouted, grabbing the bottle from her hands, finally unable to take her self-loathing anymore. "You were young and you made a mistake. Who the fuck hasn't? You want to know why Finn gets to be happy right now? I'll tell you why Q. Because he fucking got over what happened and maybe you should too!"_

_And then she slapped him, her hand beginning to sting immediately upon impact. Putting her hand over her mouth afterward, she gasped at what she had done. She took a hesitant step toward him, lips parted, wanting to apologize._

"_Don't Q," he pleaded with her, not wanting to hear another word from her. "Please don't, ok? Because I can't do this anymore. I've known you for three years now. I can't sit by anymore and watch you do this to yourself. Finn Hudson's not the last decent guy on the planet. I need you to see that babe. Why can't you see that?"_

"_But he loved me," she explained to him desperately, feeling like such a child again, her eyes lost, swimming in confusion._

_Seeing her so broken right now over some worthless punk (or at least he was in his eyes) made him want to be her hero more than ever._

"_Yeah, but I love you Quinn, not past tense," he finally revealed, holding his breath in anticipation over her response._

_Who was he kidding? She was only going to break his heart._

_Quinn stood frozen in place, staring at him blankly, her mouth slightly agape at his confession. So that office rumor had been true after all…and then, she surprised even herself because she ran into his arms and kissed him. Although he hesitated at first, he eventually surrendered to her touch, deepening the kiss. Quinn knew he wasn't Finn, but she loved the feeling of being wanted by someone, by anyone. It had been way too long._

_He pulled away from her though after awhile and she automatically asked him, her voice slightly panicked, "What's wrong?"_

_She already missed his touch._

"_I'm not Finn," he reminded her, eyes closed, although he continued to hold her in his arms._

"_I know," she assured him as a small intoxicated giggle escaped from her lips. "Now, kiss me."_

_When she leaned in again, however, he stopped her. Self discipline had always been one of his fortes. Hell! Being a lawyer, it came with the territory._

"_No, you don't," Chace interrupted her again, looking at her pointedly. "You think you do Quinn, but you're piss drunk right now. You won't even remember any of this in the morning. Come on, I'll tuck you into bed."_

_Before she could say another word, she felt herself being swept up into his arms and although she protested as he laid her down on the white satin sheets, she succumbed to rest eventually, muttering Finn's name on her lips._

What had happened after Chace had tucked her in that night? She vaguely remembered him placing a light, feathery kiss on her temple and promising her, "I'm going to be your superman one day Q.", but she preferred to believe otherwise.

Acknowledging that she had broken her best friend's heart that night would be too much for her to bear, not that he had actually _acted _like she had afterward. It was almost like that night had never happened.

_Chace had always been good at following the rules_, she mused to herself.

"Quinn?" Finn questioned after a period of prolonged silence, effectively cutting through her thoughts. "Are you alright? You look a little pale."

"Just the lighting," Quinn assured him quickly, changing the subject before he could ask her what she had been thinking about. "So, uh, what's been going on with everyone? Maybe you could fill me in."

She was only really interested in what was going on with _him _of course.

"Why not?" he figured with a nonchalant shrug, glad that she had given them something to talk about. "Uh well, you already know about Jesse and Rachel. Artie and Tina are married. They never left Lima actually."

"Yeah, I remember receiving an invitation in the mail," she confessed, looking slightly ashamed for having missed their wedding. "I should have been there."

"Don't worry about it," he assured her, not wanting her to feel any worse than she already did. "You were busy. Anyway, you should pay them a visit while you're here. They have the _cutest _little one-year old, Kevin. Mercedes, well, she's just been signed to Interscope Records actually, so she's busy recording her debut album these days."

"The next Beyoncé, huh?" Quinn clarified and he laughed before echoing, "Yeah, something like that. She _ain't _no Kelly Rowland you know."

He had tried and failed miserably at imitating Mercedes (as was expected), causing Quinn to burst into tear-inducing laughter. Finn pretended to look offended at first, but then joined her. He _had _sounded pretty ridiculous quoting her he supposed. No one could do Mercedes quite like Mercedes could.

"Alright, what about Puck?" Quinn continued after her infectious giggles had finally died down. "I know you two definitely kept in touch."

He took a moment to compose himself as well before he answered her.

"Oh, uh, Puck set up his own pool cleaning business in Beverly Hills. The competition was rough at first, but given the number of cougars around the neighborhood…" he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows at Quinn suggestively.

"Ok, no need for details there," she assured him, putting up a hand to stop him for extra emphasis. "I get it."

"Yeah," Finn echoed, a chuckle escaping from his lips. "Although to be fair, Puck stopped doing that about a month in. He met someone."

"He _met _someone?" Quinn repeated, eyes wide in awe. "Like an _actual _girl that he's serious about?"

"Uh huh," he clarified, completely understanding why she was in total shock right now.

Puck was deathly allergic to all serious relationships, period.

"I've met her a couple of times actually. Nice girl. Rich as hell too," he finished as the blonde across from him finally snapped to.

"Then why is she with him?" Quinn teased, only half joking. "What about Sam? He still doing the modeling thing?

"Wait, you kept in touch with _Sam_?" Finn immediately assumed, stopping in his movements mid bite.

She noticed how tightly he was gripping his fork then. Dear God, was he…_jealous_? And suddenly, Quinn allowed herself to hope again.

_So much for closure._

Chace would be oh so proud.


	4. Almost Lover

**A/N:** I thought I would update yesterday, but I took a little longer to write this chapter than I expected. As always, thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, anonymous or not.

**Song:** Almost Lover  
**Artist:** A Fine Frenzy

* * *

"No," she enlightened him as she tried to steady her increasing heart rate. "I saw Sam at a fashion show last year. He was modeling for Calvin Klein at the time I believe. I never even got a chance to talk to him. I don't think he even _saw _me to be honest."

Finn felt himself relax at her words. _Good._

"Uh yeah, still modeling," he confirmed, satisfied with her answer. "Anyway, Mike does work here and there as a backup dancer. Oh and drum roll please, Brittany and Santana are coaching the Cheerios together at McKinley."

"Wow, the Cheerios? _Really?_" Quinn breathed, trying to take in all of this information about her old classmates all at once. "Sue must be proud."

"Hardly," Finn scoffed as the waitress set their desserts down on the table in front of them. "Do you know she _actually _checks up on them periodically? Of course, their coaching talents are never quite up to par with her expectations."

"You know, normally I would be shocked, but we're talking about Sue Sylvester here," she noted in response, forking another piece of chocolate cake into her mouth. "She can be a little overbearing at times and even _that _would be an understatement."

When he remained silent for too long, she looked up at him. The teasing grin on his face puzzled her.

"What?" she wondered, her mouth still full of chocolate goodness.

"You have a little something right here," he informed her, gesturing toward his upper lip.

He chuckled as she grabbed a napkin frantically to dab at her own. Of course, she missed the mark every single time.

_Typical._

"Here," he offered after awhile, taking the napkin from her and wiping the chocolate mousse off her lip.

"Thanks," she whispered, her tongue darting out afterward to make sure no chocolate remained.

Her action, needless to say, did _not _go unnoticed by Finn, causing him to remain frozen in place, holding his breath. Only when Quinn coughed uncomfortably to dispel the suffocating tension did he take his seat again, setting the napkin back down on the table.

"Uh, yeah," he continued, stumbling over his words a little as he struggled to get his mind out of the gutter and back on track. "I think that's about it. Did I miss anyone?"

"Kurt?" Quinn suggested with a laugh, eyebrows raised. "Your step-brother, Finn? You remember him, right?"

"Oh right," Finn echoed, embarrassed that he had forgotten about his own step-brother. "Uh, Kurt and Blaine are party planners for the rich and fabulous now with Kurt specializing in weddings of course. They planned Artie and Tina's wedding actually. Oh, not to mention that kick-ass birthday party they threw for me last year. Sorry, I'm getting a little off track here."

Quinn smiled. She could tell that Finn and Kurt had a wonderful relationship with one another. No doubt _she _was miserable, but at least Finn seemed happy she supposed.

"I guess we all turned out ok then, huh?" she fibbed, not wanting him to find out that unlike him, she had been unable to move on from _them _and be content with her life. "Everyone sounds like they're happy."

_Everyone but me_, she added silently.

"Yeah," Finn answered, the rest of his thoughts unspoken as well and thus, unheard by Quinn.

_Except I'm not._

A brief calm fell between the two again until the blonde finally decided to ask, "And what about you? What have you been up to?"

_Why was he so reluctant to talk about himself?_

"Football coach," he revealed after a moment, a wide grin spreading slowly across his face. "I know, I know. Predictable, right?"

"Well, you were never a really good player," she teased him, taking a sip of her drink. "So, I certainly hope you're a better coach."

"Hey!" he protested, pouting a little like she had offended him. "I'll have you know Fabray that I am a _fantastic _coach. I make my team warm up to 'Single Ladies' before every game."

"Oh really? Do you join in too Hudson?" she questioned as a giggle escaped from the hollows of her throat. "Because it's been awhile since I've seen you attempt that dance and in case you've forgotten, it wasn't pretty."

_I was too busy noticing how adorable you were cheering for me on the sidelines,_ he wanted to tell her.

"Nah," he answered her instead, winking at her. "Tried to once. My team threatened to quit on me."

Quinn reached across the table then and put her hand over his. She had no idea exactly what had compelled her to do so, but she felt like he needed to know.

"Well, I'm glad you're so happy Finn," she told him. "Really, you deserve to be happy."

Normally, he might have questioned the rather random statement she had made, but instead, he looked down at where her hand was on his. Her touch was absolutely electrifying. He wondered if she could feel the chemistry between them too. It was as if they were on their first date again and that the last however many years hadn't even happened. When he finally brought his eyes up to meet hers, she looked away from him, sliding out of the booth and hastily grabbing her purse.

"Finn, I'm really sorry to run out on you like this, but I should probably call it a night," she said quickly, mostly because she needed to get out of here and get back to reality as soon as possible. "My flight's in the morning, so I can only really visit my parents tonight."

Even _she _knew that was a lame excuse, but given that her thoughts were so jumbled at the moment, it was the best she could do. She knew coming here had been a bad idea. Closure, _ha_! This little trip back to her hometown had only made things worse. What had she been thinking? More importantly, what had _Chace _been thinking?

"_What's this?" Quinn wondered, taking the envelope cautiously from his hands._

"_Open it," he instructed her, rolling his eyes at her paranoia._

_She continued to eye him warily for a moment before she did. Seconds later, she held up a plane ticket for him to see, a look of confusion spreading across her face._

"_A ticket to Boston?" she clarified, not understanding his random gift at all. "Do I even have a client in Boston?"_

"_He's in Boston, Quinn," he explained and the sudden vulnerability in her eyes told him immediately that she knew exactly who he was referring too._

_Chace wasn't talking about a client._

"_He's probably doing the whole long distance relationship thing with Rachel," he continued, hoping to get through to her. "It's time for you to go and find him. Go claim what's yours babe. His heart's not just going to fall into your lap you know."_

_She stuck the envelope back in his hands immediately, shaking her head despite his encouraging words._

"_He's happy with Rachel now," was her lame excuse as she started to turn away from him. "I can't ruin that, his happiness. He deserves to be happy Chace."_

_He sighed, chasing after her. She was like a broken record with the whole 'Finn deserves to be happy' crap._

"_Fine, then go back to Lima on that day instead," he suggested, offering her the second envelope he had prepared, having predicted she would react this way. "Relive whatever memories you want to relive and then leave them there Quinn. I will not be attending your pity party again this year. Last year was plenty enough for me."_

_She paused in her steps at his reminder as did he, neither wanting to remember the events of that night._

"_Pick one of the envelopes Q," he urged her instead, getting his little intervention back on track. "Fight for him or at the very least, try and get some closure. I mean, how can you be so sure he's not just as miserable as you are right now?"_

"_I'm not miserable," she corrected him defensively, huffing when he raised an eyebrow to call her bluff._

_She remained still, unmoving, until she finally relented, reaching for the second envelope he had offered her._

"_Well, not the one I would have chosen," Chace assured her, but he knew this was better than nothing. "And you better actually go or I'm never going to come back and visit you."_

"_What do you mean?" she wondered, wrinkling her nose in confusion as she pocketed the ticket. "Where are you going?"_

"_I handed in my resignation today," he told her, faking a smile. "I made partner at this firm in Chicago, didn't you hear? You know I can't turn down an opportunity like that darling."_

_There was something he wasn't telling her, but she was too preoccupied thinking about this upcoming trip to Lima to question him any further._

"_What am I going to do without you?" she simply asked him, hugging him tight._

_He laughed, placing a goodbye kiss on her forehead._

"_I think you'll survive," he promised her, giving her a small wink as he started to walk away. "Good luck Fabray."_

"_You too Parker," she whispered after him, watching him leave._

_What had she ever done to deserve such an amazing friend?_

She realized now that Chace was probably heading to Chicago to avoid her. He was running away just like she had from Lima all those years ago.

"Yeah, sure. I should probably go home and pack anyway. My flight's in the morning too. Uh, let me walk you to your car," Finn offered, interrupting her thoughts.

He flagged down the waitress and paid the bill as Quinn agreed quietly, "Yeah, ok."

Neither of them said a word as they walked to her car, her a few steps ahead of him. When she was about close the car door, however, he stopped her, holding onto the metal frame.

"Hey Quinn," he spoke up, hesitating with his words. "Just out of curiosity, what were you doing here tonight?"

In a split second, her stomach began to churn. _Oh no._ There was no way she was going to put her heart out there first.

"What were _you _doing here tonight?" she stressed instead, turning the tables on him as she matched his intense stare. "Or every year before that for that matter?"

_Finn, I need to hear you say it._

"Even before I broke up with Rachel, I've flown in to come here on this specific day and _sit _in that booth and you're actually asking me _why _I've been doing that?" Finn shouted, gripping tightly onto the car door now. "_Are you serious Q?_"

There was no _way _he was going to put his heart out there first, not after everything he had been through.

"_Please _Quinn," he repeated when she remained still. "What were you doing here tonight?"

_Quinn, I need to hear you say it._

She looked up at him then, her lips quivering slightly as she did. _What was wrong with her?_ Hadn't she always dreamed of this moment? And yet somehow, she couldn't bring herself to tell him she loved him, that she always had, that she always _would_. Truth be told, she had never allowed herself to believe that Finn was still in love with her and so, she had never really considered the consequences of reuniting with him until now.

She was afraid. Sure, the pronouncing-their-undying-love-for-each-other part would be great, but what about after that? What if they crashed and burned again? What if she made another stupid mistake or another Rachel Berry came along? Having her heart broken once had been more than enough. A second blow would kill her. She was sure of it.

Her initial purpose of coming here tonight had been to get some closure and she was determined to see it through.

"I told you, I came here to visit my parents," she emphasized as a result of her inner reasoning, looking straight ahead again. "I'm about to make partner at the firm, you know. I was going to share the news with them in person."

He watched her hands grip the steering wheel a little tighter, her face devoid of all emotion. Still, he refused to be the one to make his feelings known first, especially not after that humiliating trip to New York last Christmas, where she had unintentionally broken his heart for the umpteenth time.

It was then that he remembered. _Of course._ Quinn wasn't still in love with him as he was with her. She was probably still dating that guy he had seen her with that one time. Feeling absolutely _pathetic_, he forced a smile.

"Right," he answered her, closing the car door now. "Well, have a safe trip home Quinn. Good catching up."

She could hear the bitterness in his voice, but she chose to ignore it. She was saving him the greater heartache that would come were they to get back together tonight. After all, she was bound to screw up their relationship _somewhere _down the road. She managed to screw up all her relationships (cue Chace).

"You too," she simply murmured into the night, her voice cold, uncaring.

_She should have been a goddamn actress_, she mused to herself as she backed out of the parking space and drove past him.

When she reached the stop sign, however, she couldn't help but glance back at him in her rearview mirror one last time. He was _still _standing there, but turning the corner, she knew she was doing what was best for them. She had finally realized tonight that some things were better left in the past, the very lesson that Chace had been trying to teach her all along, and she? Well, she was ready to start a brand new chapter in her life, one without Finn Hudson.


	5. Again

**A/N:** Your reviews on the last chapter were wonderful, so thank you. Two more chapters to go after this one. One set in an airport, the other in a hospital. In the meantime, angst up ahead!

**Song:** Again  
**Artist:** Natasha Bedingfield

* * *

Finn opened up the front door as he sighed in defeat. He was soaking wet from the rain. Even God was mocking him right now, not that he was actually in the mood to care.

Whoever that guy Quinn was dating was, he was one lucky bastard.

"Mom?" he called out, shaking off some lingering water droplets on his person as he strolled into the living room.

He was planning to say a quick goodnight to her and Burt and then head on up to his room to sleep off his newfound depression. Tomorrow would be another day as Rachel always used to remind him optimistically.

He paused though at the sight before him. What the hell going on?

"Uh, am I missing something here?" he wondered, lips pressed into a hard line as he tried to think of a plausible explanation as to why sitting on the coach were not only _his _parents, but Quinn's parents as well.

Yeah, he was _definitely _at a loss. _Oh God._ Had Quinn been in an accident going home or something? With that heart-stopping thought in mind, Finn began to worry.

"You want to explain to me why my daughter came home crying, boy?" Russell started, approaching him then and completely catching him off guard.

_Good_, at least she was alive.

"Quinn was crying?" he echoed, half still worried about her, the other half withering under her father's glare. "Did _I_ make her cry?"

Russell scoffed in disbelief at his question. He should never have allowed Judy to drag him here with her.

"Still not the sharpest crayon in the box I see," Mr. Fabray commented under his breath as he returned to his seat on the couch.

His wife elbowed him in the ribs immediately to hush him up. They were here for their daughter's happiness. There was no place for his holier-than-thou attitude right now.

"Quinnie came home about twenty minutes ago to surprise us," Mrs. Fabray explained before she elaborated, "Everything was fine, but then, we heard her crying up in her room. She was talking on the phone with someone. She mentioned Breadsticks and your name, so I called Carole up. Since you were at Breadsticks too tonight, we put two and two together and so, she invited the two of us over here to work things out."

"There's nothing _to _work out," Finn protested, having had no idea that their parents were even in close contact with one another. "I bumped into Quinn at Breadsticks, we had dinner together, chatted a little bit, and then…"

"Did you tell her you still love her?" his mother inquired, interrupting him, the expression on her face a cross between concerned and curious. "What did she say?"

He could only stare at her for a moment in complete shock. Was she for real? Was all of this for real? He blinked hard a few times to be sure. _Damn_, this _actually _seemed to be happening to him right now.

"Alright, this is getting a little ridiculous," Finn announced, turning on his heels to head upstairs and just sleep like he had originally planned. "I'm twenty six. Being interrogated like this by my parents and my _high school_ ex-girlfriend's parents is _beyond _weird, so I'm just going to go to bed now and pretend that this night was all a strange dream if it's all the same to you guys."

He sighed in relief when no one opposed him (not out loud at least). A loud booming voice stopped him seconds later, however, much to his dismay.

"No, it's _not _all the same to me," Russell echoed, marching over to the stairs where Finn was currently standing to confront him. "I don't like seeing my little girl so goddamn upset."

"Language dear," Judy reminded her husband gently as Finn sighed, turning around to face him.

"With all due respect sir, _she _was the one who tore my heart out of my chest and left me looking like an absolute idiot in the parking lot at Breadsticks, alright?" he enlightened him, letting out a shaky breath as the pain of her rejection was still very fresh. "I don't want to hurt her anymore than you do. I swear."

"But you still love her," Burt commented knowingly from where he sat, capturing everyone's attention in an instant since he hadn't said a single word until now.

Finn stared at his step-father dumbfounded, mouth slightly open. This _had _to be a nightmare. He was probably sleeping right now, tossing and turning restlessly in his bed. He pinched himself to test his little theory. _Well, so much for that._ He was without a doubt awake. _Darn!_

Watching as they continued to stare at him expectantly, Finn threw his hands up into the air in defeat, deciding to come back downstairs and settle this once and for all.

"Look, even if I still did, it doesn't matter because she's made it clear that she doesn't care about me anymore," he informed them all, trying to keep his voice neutral, emotionless. "Are you happy now? Is _that _what you all wanted to hear?"

His words were met with looks of confusion.

"What do you mean?" Judy wondered out loud, baffled now more than ever over the relationship between him and her daughter.

As far as she knew, Quinn had never stopped caring about him or if she had, _she _certainly wasn't aware of the fact.

"There must be some sort of misunderstanding," she continued, glancing at the rest of the adults for confirmation that she wasn't alone on this. "Quinnie has always loved you. Sam and her broke up after graduation because of you. You _must _have known that. She went to New York with the sole purpose of running away from _you_."

"_What?_" Finn managed to blurt out upon hearing her words, having to take a seat now in a nearby chair in order to compose himself. "I know she and Sam broke up, although I will admit I was unaware of the reason, but she went to New York because of me too?"

He noticed his mother wince slightly as he seated himself on the new furniture because he was still wet from the rain, but he could hardly care less right now.

For the first time in a long time, he realized that Quinn might have never fallen out of love with him just like he had never fallen out of love with her.

"Yes, she was trying to forget you," Mr. Fabray confirmed, adding, "I will confess though that I was kind of happy about that. Got her away from that aspiring model at least. Plus, she was so heartbroken, she never had any interest in finding a steady boyfriend for herself. A father's dream come true, wouldn't you say? Still, I take no pleasure in seeing my daughter go through these emotional rollercoasters anymore. Eight years of heartbreak have been more than enough."

"_And _we want grandchildren," Carole emphasized as-a-matter-of-factly, everyone else quickly nodding in agreement.

Well, everyone but Russell did anyway. He still wasn't too fond of the boy. He liked him better than he had Sam, but that really wasn't saying much.

"_Grandchildren?_ Ok, this is _seriously _getting out of hand," Finn restated, lifting his hand to his forehead instinctively to feel for a fever.

If this wasn't a nightmare, he had probably gotten ill from the pouring rain. He was imagining all of this in his haze right now. He was sure of it.

"No grandchildren, no _nothing_," he continued anyway when they remained quiet, Judy and Carole sharing a look of disappointment with one another. "Besides, Quinn has a _boyfriend _and don't tell me that she doesn't because I've seen him before. This makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. _She has a boyfriend and you're all pushing me to go after her?_ What the hell?"

"Language," Russell warned him curtly as Judy clarified, "What boyfriend? If my daughter were in a serious relationship with _anyone_, she would have told me. She tells me everything, including how much she still loves you. She always has Finn."

"Oh come on," Finn scoffed, starting to believe that they were all pulling some kind of joke on him now. "Sharp-looking guy? Works with her at the New York office? Calls her 'darling'?"

_Oh crap._

"Wait, honey, when were you in New York to see Quinn?" Carole called him out, scrunching up her nose, puzzled. "I thought you said you had never kept in touch with Quinn over the years."

Well, he might as well share that embarrassing tale with them he supposed.

"I went to New York to find her last Christmas," he answered her, although the memory was painful for him to remember. "I wanted to tell her I still loved her, but she was with that guy and I thought they were dating, so I left. She has no idea that I ever went after her and I'd like to keep it that way. It was absolutely humiliating."

"_Oh!_ I remember him now," Judy spoke up suddenly, turning to her husband with glee. "Chace! We met him briefly when we went to visit her in New York that one time. You remember Chace, don't you dear?"

Russell remained non-responsive, only vaguely remembering such a character and so, she continued, "What a nice boy, but you're wrong Finn. He's Quinnie's best friend! Come to think of it, that's probably who she was talking to on the phone before we snuck out of the house to come over here!"

Finn sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to gain some new perspective on the relationship between him and Quinn (or lack thereof rather).

"Alright, so let me get this straight. She's _not _dating this guy?" he clarified and her parents both shook their heads in reassurance. "So then, why did she reject me just now at Breadsticks?"

"Sweetie, can't you tell?" his mother stated, absolutely amazed by how slow her son could be sometimes.

"She's _scared_," Judy inputted, not quite as surprised as Carole was over her son's stupidity. "She's afraid she'll screw up your relationship again if you got back together."

"Even _I_ figured that one out," Burt announced proudly then, a wide smile on his face.

When Finn simply sat there, eyes closed, fidgeting with his fingers, Mr. Fabray snapped.

"You know what? On second thought, I don't want you going anywhere _near _my daughter," Russell spoke up, standing up and looming over him. "God forbid your kids get your brains."

"_Russell!_" Judy and Carole both chided him at the same time, the latter the more offended of the two obviously.

Finn ignored the insult (what other choice did he have really?) because he finally understood what they had been trying to tell him. Finn had never been so grateful for his parents (and Quinn's for that matter) for butting into their lives.

"I have to go," he announced in realization as he headed for the front door again.

Meanwhile, Judy sent her husband a look. They had talked about this earlier.

Russell sighed, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration before going after him, muttering under his breath, "I swear Judy. The things I let you talk me into."

"House keys," he told Finn sharply, placing them into his hand with some force. "We'll be home by morning."

"Morning?" Finn echoed foolishly, staring at the keys in his hand in bewilderment.

Russell gave his eyes a good roll before informing him sternly, "For God's sake, I'm hardly naïve son. You best be planning on marrying her though, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Finn assured him when he finally caught on to what he was suggesting.

As he ran out to his car, he was still feeling very much like none of what had just happened in there was real. The only thing he _did _know with utmost certainty in that moment was that he needed to talk to Quinn, to tell her that it was ok to be scared of the future because _hell_, he was too.

When he arrived at her house about ten minutes later, he wasted no time, running up the stairs towards her bedroom.

"Quinn?" he called out for her. "Quinn, I need to talk to you!"

Without waiting for her to answer him, he threw open her bedroom door. She was lying on the bed, phone still to her ear, tissues scattered all around her. She sat up immediately though when she took notice of the intruder in her room.

"_Finn?_" she questioned in disbelief, suddenly very much alert. "What are _you _doing here? Did my parents let you in?"

She quickly swept the plethora of tissues on her bedspread into a nearby garbage can before addressing Chace again. She was on the phone with him.

"Uh Chace, let me call you back," she murmured into the phone.

Just when she was about to hang up on him, her finger on the 'End' button, Chace finished, "Alright, but the next time you call me babe, you better be bringing me nothing but good news about you and Finn. He obviously still loves you. You're the only one standing in the way of your happiness now."

She really had no answer to that and so she ended the call without another word, tossing the cellular device carelessly onto the bed.

"Just to be clear, I was _not _crying because of you," she lied, facing him now. "My best friend is moving to Chicago. That's all."

He was watching her jaw move up and down, but he paid no mind to what she was saying.

"I love you Quinn," he proclaimed, done with them running circles around each other. "I always did and I always will."

He wanted her to know that he was all in and the shocked look on her face told him that his message had gotten through…or so he thought.

"Finn," she started, biting her lower lip nervously, her nose still a little red from crying. "Are you drunk or something? I think maybe…"

"I'm not," he promised her, closing the gap between them and grabbing her by the shoulders. "I mean it, Quinn. I love you. I love you. _I love you _and I'll say it however many times you need me to until you believe it. I'm not leaving here until you do."

"You don't understand Finn," the blonde told him, averting her eyes from his intense stare. "This isn't going to work."

Her breath was starting to get shaky again, her eyes becoming moist once more as he continued to hold her in his arms. Her mind was swimming with flashbacks, ranging from her first date with Finn all the way up to her phone call with Chace just now. In addition, she could still hear everything Finn was saying to her loud and clear from where she stood in front of him and she began to panic.

"Do you still love me Quinn? That's all I need to know," he continued, still refusing to let her go. "Because as long as you do, whatever insecurities you have about our future, whatever problems we encounter, we'll work through them. I won't walk away from us no matter what, not this time. I promise."

"_No!_" she shouted as she attempted to pull away from him.

He tightened his hold on her in response. He had made the mistake of letting her go once. He wasn't doing it again.

"I'm going to screw up again Finn," she insisted, still struggling against him. "I'm going to destroy us again and then you'll leave…"

He cut her off then, pressing his lips urgently against hers. Much to his surprise, however, she started kissing him back almost instantly, her urgency the same if not greater than his own. He realized in that very moment that he had never needed to _hear _Quinn say those three little words to him again. All this time, he had just needed her back.

"Make love to me," she whispered after she had pulled away from their heated kisses moments later.

She let herself fall back onto the bed, pulling him on top of her without waiting for a response.

"Quinn, we really should talk first," he told her even though he knew he would sort of be ruining the moment.

She shook her head, her hair a golden halo around her head.

"No talking Hudson," she murmured, her hot breath on his neck.

He nodded numbly back in response as she nibbled on his ear, one hand already reaching down to unbutton his shirt. Yeah, talking later was good with him too. Finn only hoped that when Quinn tossed his pants onto the floor seconds later, the ring hadn't fallen out of the left pocket.


	6. Thinking Over

**A/N:** School has been kicking my ass, so I could only find the time to update now. The ending was inspired by the one in 'The Undomestic Goddess' by Sophie Kinsella. The next chapter will be the last. As always, reviews would be lovely.

**Song:** Thinking Over  
**Artist:** Dana Glover

* * *

Quinn propped herself up on her elbow as she watched him sleep, careful not to wake him. She found her eyes flitting from one tiny detail to another as they each caught her attention. Admittedly, she was making up for lost time. She started counting his freckles first, but her interest was quickly diverted when she noticed a small wisp of hair on his head that simply refused to fall into place like the others. Reaching out to push the rebel back, she held her breath when he stirred slightly in his sleep, murmuring something or another under his breath. Out of curiosity, she leaned in a little closer in an attempt to decipher his words, but to no avail, and so she simply returned to observing him. Running a finger along the length of his jaw, she became entranced by the soft sound of his labored breathing. As expected, Finn shifted on the bed again at her touch, causing Quinn to let out a giggle, one she swiftly muffled with her free hand. Finn had never been one of those really deep sleepers. Apparently, some things never changed.

She tested the name once more on her lips then as she had last night after he had fallen fast asleep: Mrs. Quinn Fabray-Hudson. She hadn't allowed herself to think of the possibility for some time, but she couldn't help but linger on the idea again now. The name still sounded so damn good to her even after all these years. She supposed she was still thinking too far ahead though. After all, they weren't even living in the same state right now. Falling back into her pillow with a frustrated huff, she realized that that was the start of where her worries lay. The issue hadn't come up at all last night and that bugged her. Sure, the two of them had cuddled and talked somewhere in between rounds three and four and after round six, but they were mostly just filling each other in on the last eight years of their lives. Quinn couldn't help but smile though when she recalled their late night conversations. For the first time in a long time (not counting Chace of course), she had let her guard down and allowed someone in again. It had been absolutely liberating for her and she wondered if it had been for him too.

She turned to her side to look at him again, a sigh escaping from the hollows of her throat as she did so. Yeah, a girl could definitely get used to waking up to _him _every morning, which merely brought her mind back to thinking about the future. She would admit that talking about the past had been a lot easier than she had ever expected, but Quinn still refused to underestimate the challenges that would come with attempting to discuss their future. Unlike last night, she was more than willing to take them on now. The problem that remained, however, was that she wasn't willing to be the one to bring up the subject. She didn't want to seem _needy_. They'd just gotten back together! Even so, her mind continued to dwell on the subject. How were they going to make this relationship work? After waiting to be with him again for eight years, a long distance relationship seemed so…_unappealing _to her, but what other choice did they have? She was fairly certain she was about to make partner at her law firm and he couldn't very well desert the team he had worked so hard to build.

This was essentially the same dilemma Finn had shared with Rachel, Quinn noted then. _Ugh._ She certainly didn't want a repeat of that. She supposed a long distance relationship was better than no relationship at all. Bringing her full attention back on Finn, she noticed that sometime during her fretting, a warm smile had appeared upon his face. What was he dreaming about? Was their future on his mind as well? Personally, her hopes and dreams for them hadn't changed much from high school. She still wanted the beautiful house with the white picket fence, where she would be wife and mother after a hard, but rewarding day at work. Of course, she hadn't exactly been aware of the long hours a lawyer had to work at the time, but her vision of their future together was still very much the same for the most part.

"_Quinn, what are you thinking about right now?" he wondered as he continued to stare up at the sky._

_They were lying in the middle of the football field watching the clouds float by during free period._

"_Nothing," she lied, though she smiled at him with affection._

_Truth be told, she had been thinking about their future, which was why she had wisely refrained from telling him the truth. He would probably freak out on her like most boys would. Now, Quinn was hardly one of those boyfriend-obsessed girls who'd daydream about him 24/7 and scribble her name in bubbly cursive with his last in her many notebooks, but something about Finn being her boyfriend always got her giddy. He was different from the rest of the boys at McKinley, a cut above the rest. Everything felt different with him, but what she liked best was that she never had to put up a front around him. With him, she was simply Quinn Fabray, the girl who had stolen his heart. In his presence, she was able to forget all those titles high school liked to label people with (not that she had ever been labeled with any of the bad ones of course). Still, the work that came with maintaining her good reputation was a lot of work and often times, could get extremely tiring._

"_Do you want to know what I'm thinking about?" he echoed, turning his head to the side, so that he could see her and she did the same._

"_What?" she indulged him, expecting him to tell her what the last passing cloud had been shaped like to him as he had been doing for the last fifteen minutes or so._

_Instead he grinned at her and said, "I think we're going to make it, Quinn."_

_She was rendered confused for a moment, having been caught a little off guard by his random statement._

"_What do you mean?" she clarified, to which he shrugged, turning his attention back toward the clouds._

"_I don't know," he told her honestly. "I just know we're going to get out of here someday Q and build a life together. You know, you and me. We're going to make it."_

_A giggle escaped from her lips as she propped herself up on her elbow to confront him, a small, warm breeze flowing through her golden locks._

"_Just yesterday Finn, we broke into a jealous rage in the middle of the hallway and started calling each other names," she reminded him, poking at his chest. "And suddenly you think we're going to spend the rest of our lives together?"_

_She secretly hoped they would too, but she'd never admit that to him. Well, maybe…someday._

"_Yeah, but we made up, didn't we?" he pointed out, holding her steady gaze. "We have fights all the time Q, but we've always been able to find our way back to each other by the end of the day."_

_The blonde couldn't help but smile then. There was something so sweet about that sentiment._

"_I guess you're right," she agreed, lying back down on the grass and lacing her fingers through his again._

_He smiled in satisfaction at her answer and returned to observing the passing clouds as well, both of their thoughts unspoken._

_I love you._

"Quinn," she suddenly heard Finn say through her haze. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

She snapped out of her reverie immediately at his question, her attention back on him. She blushed slightly about having been caught not only staring at him but thinking about him too. Being Quinn Fabray, however, she made a smooth recovery from her embarrassment. Her sharp mind had never failed her before.

"Getting back together with me means that I get staring rights again Hudson," she informed him as-a-matter-of-factly as she checked the time, promptly causing her to slip out of bed to get ready.

_Damn_, her flight was in about two hours. Her bag was packed already, but she'd have to get a move on if she didn't want to miss her flight.

"A price I'm more than willing to pay Fabray," he answered her, pulling her back in for a moment to place a kiss on her bare shoulder.

Evidently, he wasn't quite as mindful of the time as she was.

Smiling at his words, she turned her head to place a quick kiss on his lips. Finn had another plan in mind though as he pulled her back in afterward to deepen the kiss. Although she was reluctant to do so, she placed her hand on his chest, pushing him away.

"We have to go," she explained apologetically when he gave her a puzzled look in return. "We really can't miss our flights. I've got that meeting with the board and you've got a team to coach."

He sighed in disappointment as he flopped back onto the bed, even though he knew she was right.

"For the record, I really wish we could though," he murmured honestly before rolling out of bed himself and making a beeline towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

He closed the door behind him, but poked his head out moments later to add hopefully, "Care to join me?"

She rolled her eyes at him as she grabbed their clothes from last night up off the floor.

"Unlike your lazy ass, I was up awhile ago, so I already did," she enlightened him, a smirk forming on her face. "Disappointed?"

"Very," he admitted, winking at her before closing the bathroom door again. "Well, should you change your mind…"

Quinn huffed. Damn him for tempting her like this, but she had to administer some self control right now. Missing the flight would mean missing that meeting and missing that meeting would mean missing that life changing announcement about whether she had made partner or not. She was fairly certain that she had and her colleagues (and Chace) were confident in her too, but still, Quinn worried. There were a lot of lawyers at their firm who were hard working and damn good at their job. She did have an impressive clientele though, which she supposed might give her an edge above the rest. Quinn Fabray, _partner_. She loved the sound of that already.

Suddenly, a glistening object in the corner of her eye interrupted her train of thought. Reaching down to retrieve the item, she gasped. Oh dear God. _Was that a ring?_ She had to bite her lower lip to keep from squealing. The ring _had _to be his because she sure as hell knew she had nothing like this in _her _jewelry box. She swallowed hard at the idea. Was Finn going to propose to her soon? When had he even purchased the ring? It must have been even before they were reunited, she noted with glee. Maybe Finn had given their future just as much thought as she had after all, maybe even more. She started to bounce up and down excitedly at her discovery, ring still in hand. She was acting like a silly child right now, but she didn't even care. _Finn was going to propose to her!_

The sound of the closing shower door instantly brought her back to reality, however, and she rushed to put the ring somewhere, somewhere where he wouldn't know she had seen it. Putting the ring back on the floor seemed to be too risky lest he miss the fact that he had lost it in the first place. Her best guess was that the ring had fallen from his pant pocket. The question was…right or left? Hastily, she went for the right one, then folded his clothes neatly on the bed before throwing her own carelessly into her suitcase. She was so flustered that she hadn't even given a second thought to the usual organizational paradigm she enforced when it came to packing. She was too busy reminding herself to pretend like she hadn't seen the ring at all, which _would _be quite a challenge actually since she couldn't seem to stop smiling ever since she had taken note of the shiny object.

Dragging her bag downstairs and setting it down by the front door, she pranced (literally) into the kitchen, humming as she went.

"Good morning Quinnie," Judy greeted her when she entered the kitchen, taking a sip of her coffee as Russell merely grunted from beside her, flipping to another page of his newspaper.

Quinn almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of her mother's voice. She had forgotten that her parents would be back by morning.

"You scared me!" Quinn shouted, a hand to her chest as she tried to compose herself. "When did you two get in?"

"Just now," her mother answered her, patting the seat next to her for her to sit. "And we brought Finn's things, so you can just head on over to the airport from here. I know you can't miss your flight sweetie."

Judy wanted to know all the details. Well, not _all _the details (that would highly inappropriate), but she wanted to know at least whether or not the two were engaged or were _planning _to get engaged sometime in the near future. She wanted grandchildren and she was starting to get impatient.

"Thanks mom," Quinn murmured as she took a seat at the table, a little nervous that her father still hadn't said a single word to her.

"So Quinnie dear, are you two planning to get married, hmmm?" Judy questioned her teasingly and the blonde blushed a deep shade of crimson red.

"Mom! No!" she hissed, looking over her shoulder instinctively to see if Finn had come downstairs yet. "At least not yet. We haven't really talked about it, but…"

She trailed off, mulling over the idea of sharing her recent discovery with her overly eager mother or not.

"…but?" Judy encouraged her daughter, a bright smile on her face.

"Alright, don't freak out, but I _think _he's going to propose. I found the ring or at least I think it's _the _ring," she whispered, praying that her mother wouldn't scream in delight or something that would alert Finn of the fact that she knew of its existence.

"We're going to have grandbabies!" her mother squealed in happiness anyway, though she knew well enough to talk in hushed tones. "Russell, honey, say something!"

It was then that Quinn remembered that her father was still in the room. Springing a possible engagement on him shortly after Finn and her had just gotten back together was a bad idea. Too bad she hadn't been mindful of that about five minutes ago.

"He hasn't proposed yet daddy," she tried to reassure him. "That ring might not even be what I think it is."

His response was certainly not what she had expected.

"For his sake, it better be," his father told her gruffly, putting down his paper. "I told the boy he'd better plan on proposing to you before I let him go after you last night."

Quinn grinned, a warm fuzzy feeling coursing through her body at his confession. To the world, her father had always been one of those overly protective fathers, but Quinn knew it was only because he cared for her the most. He hardly commented on her sister Frannie's life. Wordlessly, she went over to hug him to show her appreciation and after a moment of resistance, he hugged her back, a tiny smile even forming on his face.

"You let me know if he hurts you," he added when she finally pulled away, his face falling back into a serious pattern again. "Because believe me, I'll break every bone in that boy's body. I'm sure the Lord would forgive me."

"Russell!" his wife chided him immediately, but he paid her no mind.

Unlike her mother, Quinn laughed, assuring him, "I believe you."

Her conversation with her parents had only increased her excitement over the possibility of a proposal, leading to even greater disappointment when Finn hadn't proposed anytime before their goodbyes. He'd simply told her that he would fly to New York in two weeks to see her. Then he said a quick 'I love you' and kissed her before heading to his own departure gate.

She glanced at the time again. Ten minutes until boarding. She supposed she had been silly in assuming that he would propose so soon. He was probably waiting until their first year anniversary or something, but _damn_, she didn't realize how much she wanted that ring on her finger until now. With that thought in mind, she glanced down at her bare finger, Chace's voice of reasoning finding its way into her head.

"_Just go after him Fabray. Go to Boston with him."_

"_No."_

"_Come on. You know it's not so much that you want that ring on your finger. You're just unhappy with the idea of a long distance relationship."_

"_What are you talking about Chace? Get out of my head."_

"_You want Finn to propose, so that you'll both be forced to deal with this whole him in Boston, you in New York thing."_

"_What about my career? I'm about to make partner!"_

"_So? You'll make partner at some law firm in Boston. It might take you awhile to get there, but wouldn't going home to Finn everyday be worth it?"_

She hated when Chace made so much sense.

"Ugh, fine!" she shouted, alarming the people around her. "Now just leave me alone!"

One of the staff approached her in concern and wondered, "Miss, are you alright?"

Quinn blushed, letting her know, "Uh, yes. Yes, I'm fine. Wait, no. Actually, I need a ticket to Boston."

"Certainly," the woman assured her with a smile, leading her away from the crowd. "I'll just check when the next available flight is for you."

"No, there's one that leaves in twenty minutes. I need to be on that one," Quinn told her, not wanting to come off as ungrateful for her help. "_Please_, it's an emergency."

"Oh, I'll see what I can do then," she responded, guiding her to one of the ticket counters.

Ten minutes later, Quinn had a ticket to Boston in her hand. She ran to the departure gate as fast as her legs could carry her, which turned out to be a bad idea because she ran smack into someone ten paces in.

"I'm so sorry," she started before looking up. "_Finn?_ What are you doing here? I though your flight was at terminal three."

"Not anymore Fabray," he confessed with a grin, holding up the new plane ticket in his hand for her to see. "You see, there's this girl in New York I sort of kind of love and I intend to go wherever she goes. The whole long distance relationship thing's not going to work for me."

After taking some time to recover from her shock, Quinn returned his grin and told him, holding up _her _new plane ticket for him to see now, "Interesting you should say that because I'm not a fan of long distance relationships either. I thought I'd head to Boston to be with the boy I sort of kind of love."

She dissolved into giggles afterward, finding their present situation to be quite hilarious. Her infectious laughter was cut short, however, when Finn pulled her in for a kiss. She responded eagerly, looping her arms around his neck, his arms tightening around her waist. It was only when they heard the final boarding calls on the PA system that they broke apart.

"_Final boarding calls for flights AJ397 to New York and YT104 to Boston."_

"Which flight?" he questioned, still amused by the fact that they had four plane tickets amongst them.

"Boston," Quinn answered him without a hint of hesitation in her voice. "You've worked hard to build your team. Besides, I'm going to be a damn good lawyer no matter where I am."

He kept up with her as she grabbed his hand, flying towards terminal three. He had never wanted to marry this girl more than he did in that very moment. Finn swore that when that plane landed in Boston, Quinn Fabray would be his fiancée. He knew she had already seen the ring after all.


	7. Ever Ever After

**A/N:** Aw, last chapter, but on the bright side, 'Fuinning In The Blanks' will be starting up again soon! Enjoy and should you have a moment, please review!

**Song:** Ever Ever After  
**Artist:** Carrie Underwood

* * *

"Wow Quinn," Puck commented, smirking at her from where he stood. "Have you gotten bigger since the last time I saw you?"

"Bite me Puckerman," Quinn shot back at him as he walked over to join her on the couch.

"I was _kidding_," Puck enlightened her, grabbing the remote from her hand with some force and changing the channel. "You are _such _a bitch when you're pregnant. Are you aware of that Fabray?"

"I'm a bitch when I'm not," she reminded him smoothly, taking the remote back from him in one swift motion.

When he reached out for the device again, she slapped his hand away.

"I swear Puckerman," Quinn warned him through clenched teeth. "You steal my remote _one _more time and I'm going to go all batshit crazy on you. Do you understand me?"

"Alright, alright!" Puck promised her. "_Jesus _and all along I thought Finn was exaggerating about that unstable mind of yours."

It took him a moment to realize what he had just revealed to her.

_Oops._

"He said _what_?" Quinn screeched, muting the TV and whirling around to confront him.

"Uh, did I say unstable?" he questioned, chuckling nervously. "I meant to say _brilliant_."

"What did Finn say exactly?" the blonde pried, gripping the remote even tighter in her right hand.

_Oh crap._ Thankfully, he had a sharp mind.

"Why are we talking about _Finn _when you _should _be concentrating on Patrick Dempsey on your TV screen right now? Hmmm?" Puck asked, attempting to change the subject. "Made Of Honor, right?"

"27 Dresses, James Marsden," she corrected him without missing a beat. "Stop trying to change the subject, Puck. Nothing gets past this brilliant mind. You meant to say _brilliant_, right?"

When he opened his mouth to respond again, she narrowed her eyes in an attempt to instill some fear into him.

_I dare you to even try to spout off a lie again._

Puck sighed, reluctant to turn his best friend in at first. Thinking about the alternative (aka facing the wrath of a _very _pregnant Quinn Fabray), however, changed his mind.

"He came over to vent a little last night," he revealed, shuffling a little closer to her like he was telling her some big secret. "Apparently, he wanted to repaint the nursery and you flipped out on him?"

"He wanted to paint half of the room grass-colored green with footballs and shit everywhere and then paint the other half rosy pink with unicorns and rainbows!" Quinn protested in an attempt to justify her actions.

Alright, so maybe she had gone _slightly _overboard over the issue last night. She wasn't exactly _proud _that she had gone ballistic on her husband, but it wasn't really her fault! It was these goddamn hormones that rendered her so easily agitated all the time!

"That would be _awesome_!" Puck inputted, looking at her now like she was genuinely insane. "You're having twins, right? Splitting the room in half makes sense to me. 'Sharing is caring' and all that jazz."

"I know, but green and _pink_?" Quinn repeated, still unable to wrap her head around the idea. "Besides, the room will look so awkward with that half-half business. Now, the soft yellow we have in there right now? Beautiful _and _gender-neutral."

"Yeah, not to mention boring," Puck murmured under his breath, eliciting another glare from the blonde.

"I swear you and Naomi moved to Boston _just _to torture me," Quinn muttered under hers in return, sick of discussing this whole room color business now.

"Hey! I thought you _liked _Naomi," he commented as the blonde returned her attentions toward the movie.

"Oh, my apologies," Quinn corrected her earlier statement without taking her eyes off the screen. "I swear _you _moved to Boston just to torture me."

Puck smirked at her retort, but remained silent, sitting through the last ten minutes of 27 Dresses with her.

When the movie was over, Quinn turned off the TV, turned towards him, and said, "I have an idea, a _good _one."

"In relation to the nursery debacle or…?" Puck trailed off, raising an eyebrow at her suggestively.

"_Ugh!_ How dare you even suggest that that was what I was suggesting?" she shouted, hitting him with one of the pillows on the coach relentlessly.

"Um, wow," Puck remarked, blocking her numerous blows. "I hope those twins come out of you soon because you _are _starting to become unbearable to be around."

She froze upon hearing his words, her insecurities floating to the surface again.

"Did _Finn _say that?" Quinn whispered, setting her weapon down, her head hung low.

Oh dear God. Was she _sniffling_? Finn would _kill _him for making her cry.

"No, no," he assured her, patting her awkwardly on the back. "He said nothing of the sort. He might have ranted on a bit about how irrational you were being over the whole nursery thing at first, but then afterward, he couldn't shut up about how much he appreciated you for carrying his children around for the last eight months. He knows how hard it's been on you Quinn, especially since they're twins and all."

"Really?" she confirmed, a smile lighting up her face again as she dried her tears.

"Yeah Q," he promised her, returning her smile. "Now, what was that awesome idea of yours? Let's hear it."

"Well, I'm still not doing the half-half color thing," she answered him as she stood up from the couch, all business again. "But I suppose you could paint a mix of footballs and rainbows or whatever around the room before Finn gets back from the game. I'll supervise."

"Wait, you want _me _to do the painting?" he clarified in disbelief, already shaking his head 'no' at the idea. "I have trouble drawing stick people!"

Before Quinn could tell him otherwise, the door bell rang. She made a move to answer the door, but Puck stopped her, reappearing a few moments later with a familiar (and most welcome) face.

"Chace!" the blonde shouted excitedly, wobbling over to hug him. "I thought your flight didn't get here until evening!"

"Favorites much?" Puck muttered under his breath as he walked past them and made himself comfortable on the couch again.

Having heard what Puck had said, Chace chuckled, giving him a brief nod before turning his attentions back toward Quinn.

"I couldn't wait to see you, so I took an earlier flight," he told her, to which she beamed in response. "I have an important client to see tomorrow afternoon though, so unfortunately, I'll be gone by morning."

Quinn pouted in obvious disappointment, but noted, "Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about that. How's my dream job going for you by the way?"

"Aw, don't say it like that babe," Chace chided her, giving her a warm smile. "When you gave up your position as partner, you _knew _someone else would have been asked to step in eventually."

"True," Quinn agreed, leading him into the kitchen now and offering him some lemonade. "Better you than some incompetent loser I guess. I still can't believe you moved to Chicago only to move back to New York again."

Chace shrugged and confessed, "Turned out for the best anyway. I shouldn't have run away from New York in the first place. It was a cowardly move, made me kind of a hypocrite, didn't it?"

Quinn smiled, moving her hand over his.

"Sort of, but I'm glad we're still best friends after everything," she whispered in all honesty and he quickly returned the sentiment. "Me too Fabray."

There was a brief silence before he decided to pick up the conversation again.

"So, what was that bit that night on the phone about you thinking about quitting your job?" he pried and Quinn laughed at how straight forward he was being with his question. "What happened to that whole 'I'm going to be partner at my new law firm one day' thing? Hmmm?"

"Well, we don't really need the money," Quinn reasoned, truly wanting his opinion on the matter. "We've made some really good investments. Plus, I'm thinking these two will be enough of a challenge for me, you know? Keep me occupied?"

"Hey Quinn," Puck called out for her then as he entered the kitchen, effectively interrupting their conversation. "Do you have any red paint? A rainbow without…"

He trailed off because Quinn paled suddenly.

Before he or Chace could ask her what was wrong, however, she informed them, "My water just broke."

"_Oh God._ Everyone stay calm!" Puck shouted instantly only to realize that _he _was the only one who seemed to be panicking at the moment. "Uh, are you sure? Aren't you supposed to like get these really painful contractions or something? You seem super calm to me."

"Contractions don't always start right away," Chace explained quickly, helping Quinn up just as she gave Puck a response of her own, "Either my water just broke Puckerman or I decided to take a leak on the kitchen floor! Now get me to the hospital and call Finn. _Please!_"

"You call Finn and get the car started," Chace instructed Puck, since he clearly had more of a handle on the situation. "I'll help Quinn to the car."

Puck nodded, doing exactly as he was being told. Dear God. Why was this happening to him again? He'd seen her give birth once. He seriously didn't need to go through that trauma again. Finn had better pick up and get his ass to the hospital ASAP.

By the time they had gotten to the hospital, the contractions had started and judging by Quinn's screams, they were painful as hell.

"Where's Finn?" she shouted as she lay on the hospital bed, her face scrunched up in pain.

"He'll be here soon," Puck promised her (well, he hoped so anyway) as Chace worked with her on her breathing.

Twenty minutes later, however, Finn still hadn't arrived.

Nevertheless, the doctor informed her, "Alright Mrs. Fabray-Hudson, I'm going to have to ask you to start pushing now."

"I'm not doing _anything _until my husband is here!" Quinn yelled, even though she really had the urge to push. "Where the fuck is he?"

"I'm here! I'm here!" Finn shouted then, practically flying into the delivery room much to everyone's relief (especially Chace's since his hand was the one currently in her death grip). "I'm sorry. I tried to get here as fast as I could."

"You should be sorry for a _hell _of a lot more than that," Quinn muttered as the doctor instructed for her to push again (and this time, she did). "You're the reason I'm going through this right now!"

"Whatever you say sweetie," Finn cooed as he coaxed her to keep breathing, knowing better than to agitate her any further in her current state.

By that time, Puck had left the delivery room to call everyone he could think of and inform them that Quinn was giving birth. Chace had left the delivery room too, although he stayed just outside the doors to keep tabs on how she was doing. Listening to her occasional screams at both Finn and the medical staff, however, let him know that she was just fine.

"_I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!"_

"_I am pushing goddamn it!"_

"_You're a trained professional! This shouldn't be hurting so fucking much!"_

"_I swear we are never having sex again Hudson!"_

She quieted down though when the first baby was born, tears already in her eyes as she used the last bit of strength she had to bring her baby girl into the world as well.

Having been so tired after the delivery of her twins, Quinn had fallen fast asleep after only having held them briefly in her arms. When she woke up about half an hour later, Finn was still by her side, but her babies were nowhere to be found. She started to panic a little before Finn explained to her that the doctors had taken them for a routine checkup and that they would be back in her arms soon. With his reassurance, she felt herself relax again.

"I'm sorry I was late by the way," Finn took the opportunity to apologize to his wife. "I swear I got here as fast as I could."

"I know," Quinn assured him, placing a hand on the curve of his cheek. "Besides, I was late for our wedding, so I guess we're even now, right?"

_Finn glanced at his watch again. She was supposed to have been here twenty minutes ago! A million possibilities started to float through his mind then. Was she in an accident? Had she been kidnapped? Did she change her mind? He turned to look at Puck then who had stood off to the side to call Russell (again) to see where he and Quinn were. Beth stood beside him on her tiptoes, straining to hear their conversation. She was worried about her mom too. Thankfully, this time, Puck and Beth both signaled to him that his bride was finally here. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, the music began to play and everyone in the church turned in their seats in anticipation of the beautiful bride. _

_The sight that beheld them when she strolled in on her father's arm, however, was not one they had expected to see. Quinn Fabray looked like an absolute mess! There was a tear in her dress, unsightly scuffmarks on the heels of her shoes, and her veil was nowhere to be found. Even her father looked a little pale standing next to her. What the hell had happened? Still, there was such an angelic smile on her face that no one dared to make a comment over her appearance (or that of her father's for that matter). In fact, she had made it all the way down the aisle as if nothing had been amiss._

"_What happened?" Finn whispered in concern when she got to the altar, taking her hands in his as the priest continued to stand there in shock._

_Upon hearing his question, she started to ramble, her smile faltering a little as she did so._

"_I know I look terrible Finn, but the limo broke down," she explained to him, the entire church listening intently to their conversation now. "I was so anxious about being late that I totally forgot to call and then there was traffic and so I decided to run here with daddy instead because I didn't want you to think that I was leaving you at the altar or something as equally absurd. Some idiot accidentally stepped on my dress on the way and then I lost the veil somewhere too. I wouldn't look like this otherwise."_

"_Well, you still look stunning Fabray," he assured her over her almost inaudible sniffling, adding, "Plus, at this point, I'm just really happy you showed up."_

_Quinn returned his reassuring smile after awhile and the two then turned to finally face the priest, who continued on with the ceremony without a single hitch. Despite its rocky start, the wedding had turned out to be a dream come true after all._

"I guess so," Finn answered her with a chuckle, snapping out of his reverie just as the nurse returned with their babies and placed them into Quinn's outstretched arms.

Puck and Chace came in to join them not long afterward along with Naomi, who had arrived at the hospital sometime while Quinn was sleeping.

"Aw, your kids are going to break a lot of hearts when they get older, you know," Naomi commented, sitting on the edge of the bed to coo at the newborns.

Quinn nodded in agreement, a contagious smile spreading over her face as she observed her sleeping angels.

"I hate to interrupt this little moment," the nurse spoke up from behind them all then as Finn reached over to take his little girl in his arms. "But I need those baby names for the birth certificates now."

"Oh of course," Quinn sounded, motioning for her husband go first.

When the discussion of baby names had first started, the two of them couldn't seem to agree on anything and so, they had ultimately decided that Finn would get to name their baby girl and that she would get to name their baby boy, no objections from the other allowed.

"Charlotte Annalise Fabray-Hudson," Finn announced after a moment, kind of proud of himself when Quinn smiled in approval at the name he had chosen.

The nurse jotted the name down quickly before turning to Quinn and asking, "And the baby boy?"

"Jayden Drizzle Fabray-Hudson," she informed her, looking down lovingly at her son, who was now wide awake (and gurgling slightly) in her arms.

Finn grinned upon hearing the name, the nurse shrugging nonchalantly as she left the room. She had heard odder words than 'Drizzle' included in baby names before in her line of work. Puck and Chace, however, looked absolutely horrified.

"Drizzle? _Seriously?_ You two had better hope that that boy _never _gets asked what his middle name is," Puck warned them.

"Seconded," Chace confessed, although he was careful to add, "Jayden as his first name was a great choice though."

"Not to mention that the name Charlotte Annalise sounds absolutely _precious_," Naomi commented as well, reaching out to touch her little hand.

"Yeah, it does," Quinn whispered in agreement as she shared a look with her husband.

Despite the numerous challenges they had faced to get to this point in their lives, they had both gotten everything they had ever wanted: each other. The way they saw it, everything else was just a God-given bonus.

_To ever ever after_


End file.
